“We Must All Come Together”: Carrie Underwood Defends Decision to Perform at Donald Trump's Inauguration

Carrie Underwood has been unveiled as one of the performers at Donald Trump's inauguration as the 47th President of the United States on January 20th, 2025. Underwood will be performing ‘America the Beautiful’ during the Washington, DC ceremony.

A number of fans have criticised Carrie Underwood's decision to accept Donald Trump's invitation to perform, with the ‘Jesus, Take the Wheel’ hitmaker sharing an official statement to AP explaining the move, “I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event”.

The American Idol star went on to underline, “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future”.

Carrie Underwood's appearance at Donald Trump's forthcoming ceremony continues country music's strong presence at recent presidential inaugurations, with Toby Keith performing when Trump was sworn in for the first time in 2017.

Garth Brooks sang at both Barack Obama and Joe Biden's inauguration ceremonies, while Tyler Hubbard and Tim McGraw delivered their unifying hit, ‘Undivided’, at the latter.

Carrie Underwood has remained largely apolitical throughout her career, having emphasised her refusal to be drawn into polarising debates in a number of previous interviews. The Oklahoma singer-songwriter did, however, make light of Trump's Twitter habits during the 2017 CMA Awards, with Underwood teaming up with Brad Paisley for a playful, revamped version of her iconic anthem, ‘Before He Cheats’.

Donald Trump's inauguration is set to take place on January 20th, 2025, with Carrie Underwood joined on the line-up by Village People, Lee Greenwood and Christopher Macchio. The latter will be performing the US national anthem at the close of the ceremony.

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